1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to workpiece transport carts and more specifically involves a cart and workpiece retaining collar combination and a work/storage table specifically adapted to accommodate a preferred embodiment of the cart.
2. Background of the Invention
The assembly of a workpiece, such as a missile guidance section or missile guidance assembly, requires many operations, each requiring the appropriate parts and tools. Typically, the missile guidance assembly is moved from work station to work station during assembly, so that the specialized tools and specialized personnel can perform each particular assembly operation. Missile guidance assemblies, in particular, are not easily handled and transported. They are heavy, have no good handling surfaces, and, if damaged, repairs are difficult and expensive. There has therefore been a need for a transport cart which includes means for safely securing a missile guidance assembly and lifting and transporting it between work stations.
In the assembly of missile guidance assemblies and in the re-work of such assemblies which involves removal of non-functioning electronic plates and the like, it would often be expeditious to support the assembly in a manner in which it may be rotated or flipped upside down without the upper components, including the RF antenna, being contacted. There has therefore been a need for a transport cart and workpiece securing apparatus which also functions as an assembly station and which will allow for rotation of a retained workpiece.
Typically missile guidance assemblies are tested in a horizontal position by attaching them to a test fixture. Therefore, it is desirable that a transport cart be adapted to hold the assembly under test in a horizontal position and support the assembly for attachment to the test fixture.
Because missile guidance assemblies are often transported large distances within the manufacturing facility for storage or shipping, it is further desirable that such a transport cart be extremely stable so as to not easily tip over.
Different assemblies, and the same assembly during different stages of assembly, have different configurations. It is not possible to secure the various configurations with a single device. Therefore, it is desirable to have a common means by which a multiplicity of assembly retaining means can interface with and attach to a cart.